The direction I needed…
Working with Jennifer was probably one of the best decisions I made while beginning my private practice. She is extremely knowledgeable, infinitely patient, and delivers absolutely amazing work. I had no idea what I wanted, and everything was just nebulous ideas. Her support during the nascent stages of my business was invaluable, and she helped me find the direction that I needed.
Running a creative business is hard, especially as a person of color, immigrant, or other underestimated identity.
You may not have a lot of role models who get the challenges you face simply because of your place in the world.
Your loved ones and community may not know how to support you. (Or might be actively opposing your choices, sigh.)
And if you have to read one more HoT BuSiNeSs TiP from another cishet white man who is TOTALLY SELF-MADE (in that he inherited privilege and resources along with whatever Caucasian DNA gives him all the answers), you just might scream.
It’s okay, Auntie’s here.
Sometimes you just need a listening ear and another brain to think through a question, provide another perspective, or generate new ideas for your business or life.
Good news: you can borrow mine!
How I Built My Business as an Asian American and What It Means For You
- I was the only Asian American (and the only woman of color, for that matter) in my Master of Education program, and nearly always the only Asian American teaching staff in any of the schools I worked in.
- While plenty of my Chinese/Taiwanese American guy friends got into photography during college (a hobby second in popularity only to playing the same three songs on guitar), I was the only girl with a camera and the only one who tried to make an actual business out of it.
- When I entered the world of online business via the blogosphere, I tried to be a chirpy white mommy blogger because that’s all that I saw around me. (This failed spectacularly for…many multiple reasons lol.)
Based on these experiences, I committed to finding and supporting other business owners who shared some of my experiences as a woman of color. I also looked for blogs, courses, and podcasts created with our unique needs and perspectives in mind.
When those resources proved hard to find, I made my own, and here we are.
Ask Auntie Anything
honest, energizing answers to light a fire under your ass business
Session Options
60-minute Session
- This option is great for brainstorming solutions or ideas for your business, choosing one or two to focus on, and then creating an action plan to get the shit done. Things we could accomplish in 60 minutes include:
Create a service menu with prices
Map out your offers and the marketing funnel around them
Lay out a plan for leaving your day job (and get some cheerleading to pull it off!)
Refine a specific process in your business (i.e. prospecting, sales calls, onboarding, offboarding)
30-minute Session
- The shorter session is useful for spitting out a list of ideas that you can choose from later, OR knocking out one specific task. Things we could do in 30 minutes include:
Generate a few weeks’ worth of content marketing topics
Review your business website or email marketing and find ways to improve
Compile a suite of tools you can use to run your business/life more efficiently
Troubleshoot a specific client management issue
The confidence to go forward…
Prior to meeting with you, I was conflicted about paths to take and whether my idea was one that people would buy into. You saw a lot more possibility than I did and that made all the difference in my ability to go forward. I have confidence now that I can do this and people will want to have the product I’m selling.
I realized that if I were going to commit to trying any sort of business endeavor in my retirement, I needed a sounding board who knew what it took to leave education to do self-initiated projects, and you totally rocked doing that. So obviously, I needed your input if I was going to be serious about this.
What can we talk about?
Pretty much anything but especially…
- Figuring out your f&*$ing pricing
- Setting up profitable and sustainable service or coaching packages
- Email marketing
- Lead magnets and marketing funnels
- Building a business website
- Clarifying your services and products
- Time management
- Processes and tools to run an efficient business
- Running a business and a household at the same time
- BOUNDARIES BOUNDARIES BOUNDARIES
- Transitioning from employment to self-employment
- Telling your parents you won’t be embarking on [insert aspirational immigrant career path here] after all
These folks think I’m smart and helpful too!
From stalled out to moving forward…
Before working with Jen, I wasn’t sure the direction I wanted to take my business. I was following a cookie cutter business pattern and it just wasn’t working for me. I knew I wanted to do something different and unique, but was not having any luck coming up with ideas.
Jenn was a wealth of knowledge on others who have paved the way and she helped me look outside the box and find alternate routes that align with my personality and goals. I am excited and moving forward with all kinds of new ideas, whereas previously I was stalled out and frustrated.
Ready to be lovingly lit on fire? (metaphorically ofc)
- Pick your session type.
- Choose a date and time that works for you.
- Fill in your contact information.
- Click Submit and Next to go the invoice screen.
- Pay your invoice with credit, debit, or PayPal.
- You’ll get an email confirmation of your appointment and a link to a short 2-question intake form.
- All done! Sit back and wait for Auntie’s wisdom.
